Hide and Seek
by LadyDiamond88
Summary: They both drank too much. She kissed him, he touched her. Nine months later, Samantha Marie Morgan came into the world. Today, four years later, Sammy has disappeared without a trace.
1. Playing hide and seek

I'll catch you"

Samantha said aloud, putting a curly lock of hair behind her ear

Her little bare feet walked on the wet grass.

The little girl covered her mouth with her hands, silencing her laugh. She knew where her daddy was.

Ruffus, her mom's puppy, he was standing out of his house. The little German Shepherd remained in the small door, poking his nose behind his wooden shelter.

"Ruffus!" Derek whispered, sitting in an awkward position. His body was too big, it was impossible to hide himself behind the small wooden house dog. He shook his hand, trying to scare the animal "Go away!"

But it was too late.

"I've caught youuuu" Sammy crooned, standing in front of her daddy.

Derek faked a defeat gesture and dropped on the grass "Are you happy now, Ruffus?"

In answer, the dog licked his cheek as shaked his tail.

"Where are you two?" Penelope asked as she walked to the back of their garden. She gaped at her daughter "Where are your shoes?"

Sammy shrugged and smiled sweetly.

Derek couldn't do anything but admiring his daughter from her bare feet to her dark curly hair.

That little angel, his princess, his unexpected gift ... She was born to bring light to the darkness of his world.

After each hard case, after battling the worst criminals and every evil mind...Derek Morgan just needed a smile, a hug from her little baby girl. And he would never regret that night with Penelope.

"What do you want for din-?" Pen asked, smiling in that way that only she smiled. That smile that he loved still.

"Lasagna! Lasagna!" Samantha interrupted "Pleaseee!"

"It's ok, little bear"

Penelope kissed the soft cheek of her child but dodged her boyfriend's chocolate eyes.

"And where is my kiss?" Derek asked pretending a joked tone "I want a kiss, too"

She swallowed but agreed to give him a light kiss that barely touched his lips. "It's bath time for Sammy"

He nodded but his mind was far away from his daughter bath.

Maybe, in the end, it wasn't such a good idea as it seemed at first. Start a relationship for the sake of your baby is not a good fucking idea.

"Bath time" he said, smiling at his little girl.

"Daddy, I don't want bath right now" Sammy said "hide and seek for the last time, ok?

Derek narrowed his eyes and raised his index finger, but ended up placing his forehead on the tree.

"1...2...3...4...5...6...7...8...9...10..." he opened his eyes and turned around "Ready or not, here I come!"

Derek looked around their garden and something made him shiver. His dark eyes fell on the swing of Sammy. Her little pink bicycle with four wheels. Her stuffed unicorn. Her dirty shoes.

He shook his head and began to look for her.

He walked around his house. He looked inside Ruffus house. Sammy used to copy his hideouts. But she wasn't there.

His heart froze, prisoner of a bad feeling.

Derek opened the house door "Sammy, where are you!?"

"Sammy is not with you?" Penelope whispered in a weak voice, "Where is my baby, Derek?"

That's when fear was born. They put their house upside down, looking for their child in each room, watching every little corner.

They sought her in the street, their neighbors joined them in that desperate search. But there was no trace of Samantha Morgan.

A harrowing hour later, the two of them were walking home. Maybe their little miracle could be at the door of her house. Yes, Samantha will be waiting for them.

But what them found there was something more sinister. Penelope began to cry inconsolably as she fell to her knees on the asphalt.

Derek looked stunned at those letters, his soul trembling with terror.

Someone had written in red on the white door of the house.

HIDE!


	2. Chaos

**DISCLAIMER:** i OWN NOTHING JUST MY CRAZY IDEAS :)

 _A/N: Thanks a lot for your reviews and favorites. I love you all!Here I leave a new chapter, I hope you like it. I accept constructive criticism, ideas, anything._

Life sometimes is a huge bitch. And nobody prepares you to face such pranks.

Yes, we're all used to hearing about sad stories, watching dramatic movies or listening to heart-rending testimonies on a mid-afternoon talk show.

Penelope was one of those people who believed that bad things only happened to others. Rape, terminal illnesses ... Accidents where your parents die. The kidnapping of your daughter in your own home.

Their house was no longer a home. Without Samantha those four walls were no more than a property without meaning.

"Garcia" she heard his boss's voice "You have to tell me if someone has been bothering you"

She wanted to collaborate. After all, they just wanted to find her girl.

But it was frustrating. Her voice did not come from her throat and, frankly, she had nothing to say either.

"What the hell's on your mind?" Derek shouted angrily, walking aimlessly around the room "We're talking about Sammy!"

"It's not our fault," David Rossi replied, trying to make his younger partner come to his senses.

He more than anyone knew what he was talking about. David had been an FBI agent for too many years, enough to know that the heart is far above the mind.

Derek Morgan was a great agent and Penelope Garcia was the best in her field.  
But before federal agents and above all things they were parents. Parents of missing four years girl.

"I don't care who is to blame" Derek ran his hand over his head, sighing deeply "Nobody is going to take me away from the case. I'm not going to sit here while other people look for my princess"

David breathed in slowly and let his shoulders fall a little. "Morgan ..."

Derek smiled sadly. His dark skin was pale and his eyes seemed empty.

"What's the use of saving the world, eh?" he said sharply "What's the use if I'm unable to save my own world?"

David looked at him sympathetically before sharing a look with his boss. "Hotch, can we talk for a moment?"

The other man nodded slightly and went outside.

"Why did you close your eyes?"

Derek turned to look at his girlfriend, who was looking at him with a dead gesture.

Any zombie could look better than Penelope at that time.

Her always-care blond hair was now no more than a tangle of messy hair. She had dark circles, she was pale, her lips were dry and her body was a bundle of nerves.

Her words stabbed like daggers in his heart. Because deep down, that was a reproach that he had spit in his face a hundred times.

Maybe he was not as good a father as he seemed.

What kind of man loses sight of his daughter knowing the evil that inhabits the world?

"I'm sorry" Derek mumbled, unable to look into the eyes of that desperate mom "I'm so sorry"

And they stayed there, in the middle of the room. Without moving a muscle, without almost breathing, without looking away from each other.

Their house was full of noise but it was no familiar noise to them.

No laughter could be heard, nor shoes running down the hall. That was not corn popcorn being made in the microwave. That was not Elsa and her 'Let it go'.

It was not noise but it was chaos. A coming and going of strangers who investigated every small space of their house and police exchanging theories. Their four teammates rambling on about what kind of disturbed mind could have done such a barbarity. The scientific police taking samples of the blood found in the door.

Derek felt a hand on his left shoulder. He turned around even though he already knew who it was. He could recognize she sweet perfume anywhere in the world.

"Forgive me" she whispered, her eyes still wet with tears "My comment has been out of place and it has been unfair for you"

He swallowed as he shook his head. "I have nothing to forgive. You're in your right to reproach me whatever you want. I'm a mess"

He dropped to the ground and hid his face in his hands. His huge body began to tremble as his crying made everyone keep silent.  
Penelope sat beside him, as defeated as he was. But she knew that he needed her more than ever. She was her refuge, she always was. His god given solace.

She tugged at his hand to shelter him in a warm embrace. A hug that recomposed him for a few seconds.

"She'll be fine, Derek. She's strong and smart. She's our girl, baby."

Then the phone rang. All heads turned to that black device, but nobody moved. The chaos became a terrifying tranquility.

Emily Prentiss gave him the signal. Derek picked up the phone, his heart beating in his throat.

"Hello?"

"Again, Daddy! Again, Daddy! A last game!"


	3. Under Suspicion

"Can I know why the hell I'm sitting here?"

Agent Orson sighed slowly, as he sat opposite Derek Morgan and answered what he had been answering for twenty-five years whenever the occasion deserved it.

"I'm sorry, Derek" he dropped a white folder on the table and rested his elbows on it "but in 90% of the cases, the closest relatives are involved in the kidnapping of the child"

The other man narrowed his dark eyes, clenching his jaw.

Anger was written all over his face.

And Paul Orson could ever understand his frustration.

In the eyes of that desperate courage father, he was wasting time. Time that was valuable for the life of his little daughter.

"What the fuck are you insinuating, Paul?"

Derek used his first name. Maybe because he did not expect that drastic turn in the investigation.

The other agent fixed his blue eyes on her face, with such a cold look that would have frozen the fire."You're playing with Samantha hide and seek, in your own house. Then you close your eyes for ten seconds and boom!" He snapped his fingers "She's gone, too much of a coincidence, is not it?"

His hands opened and closed, trying to calm the anger that burned his body. Derek wanted to punch his fucking face and erase that superb gesture of a blow.

"How can such barbarity even be in your head?" he whispered, trying to control the monster inside him. "What the hell do I win with all this?"Paul smiled wryly. "I do not know, maybe freedom?"

"What the hell...?"

"Samantha disappeared while she was playing with you. Nobody heard screams. No strange noise"

Derek shook his head, looking away. No, he did not want to see the face of that asshole. He did not want to see his accusatory look. He did not want to hear his words hurting him like bullets in his guts.

What kind of monster did they think he was? A murderer, a pedophile, a bad beast?He was many things, but he would never hurt any child.

"You did not hear anything either, right?"

He had no choice but to nod. But if he had had a chance, he would have blown his brains out.

Because every time they asked him to relive that moment his memories were only evidence of how irresponsible he had been that afternoon

"Paul, believe me" his voice sounded pleading as well as tired "I have nothing to do with the disappearance of Sammy. I love that girl and she is my reason for living. I would never hurt her"

The other man grimaced before opening the folder under his forearms. From there he took a picture of a brunette woman and threw it to Derek hands. "And Jessica Thomas?"

Derek blinked in disbelief, looking at that woman's green eyes. That look that hypnotized him even from a photograph printed on a simple page."What relationship do you have with her?"

Derek swallowed and dodged that insistent look. "She's an old friend"

Paul Orson raised his eyebrows while smiling ironically "Oh, so an old friend"

The gray man pulled some folios over the table: several conversations via whatsapp and via Facebook. Attached images.

Paul could not help but raise his voice "Jessica is not an old friend, she's your lover!"

Derek pursed his lips, more nervous than a minute ago. But he didn't open his mouth, he had nothing to say in his defense.

"Last conversation was on May tenth. 15:50" Orson got up and placed himself next to the suspect "Only three hours before Samantha disappeared. And your daughter knows Jessica, is not it?"

A bitter tear fell down his cheek. Now he needed that damn gun. Now he did need to die.

"Samantha had no reason to suspect her ballet teacher, maybe Jessica told her that she had a better hiding place"

"I did not kidnap my daughter!" Derek screamed, more for quieting his own conscience than for silencing the veteran agent

Paul Orson left that room without saying goodbye to Derek. There were men who did not deserve the family they had.

A younger companion approached him as soon as he walked out the door, eager to follow his instructions.

"Go to arrest Jessica Thomas" he sentenced, still walking "ballet teacher was sleeping with daddy"

Paul was so absorbed in his thoughts that he did not notice her presence. His words made her gasp and drop to the floor, just as tears fell from her eyes. And Penelope cried, cried until she was tired.


	4. Under Suspicion II

The blond woman swallowed. She felt that she was in a semi-dead state.  
As one of those souls who live in purgatory, waiting for the Lord to decide if it was good enough for eternal life.

Her little girl had disappeared nearly 48 hours. She had been dead almost 48 hours. Every second that the clock marked, that was one more blow against her heart.

Penelope, look me in the face.

She lifted her eyes reluctantly, arching her right eyebrow.

\- What the fuck do you want from me? Should not you be on the street looking for my daughter?

Paul Orson took a deep breath. This was going to be complicated.

\- Did you know about your husband's sexual escapades?

She clenched her jaw at the same time that she stuck her forearms on the wooden desk.

-Derek is not my husband. He is just the father of my daughter.

Paul leaned back in his chair, staring at that desperate mother. He had met Penelope before.

She worked for his team on a couple of occasions. Penelope Garcia was known for being a cheerful, talkative and fun woman. Nothing to do with that gray, cold person he had before his eyes.

\- Jessica Thomas is innocent. Apparently, she was giving private classes to seven-year-old sisters. Witnesses said she was in the house of the Collins sisters for three hours.

-I do not care what that bitch does. It matters to me that you find my daughter, since some enlightened one believed that you were better than my team to look for Sammy.

Paul could see too much disappointment in her face. She was hurt, desperate and lost at that moment. He could not react to her impotent cries. He as a father understood her frustration.

-Only one more question and please, answer me. Did you know Derek had a relationship with Jessica?

Penelope pressed her lips together. She narrowed her eyes as she brought her face closer to the older agent.

-I'm a fucking hacker- she whispered, with a gesture of arrogance drawn on her face - I could have hacked each and every one of her social networks if I had wanted to.

He raised his eyebrows. She was good, very good. He could attest to that.

-You did it?

-Of course yes. Yesterday, just when I get home. There was nothing but hot conversations and pictures of her vagina. Oh, there were also collages of her tits. Invitations to dinner. Invitations to go out for a drink.

Paul Orson knew that was illegal. But he could see her jealousy, the anger in her eyes. Although Penelope swore there was nothing between them.

-Penelope, I notice you a little jealous.

-I'm not.- She smiled then, looking into the agent's eyes. -Derek never accepted her tempting offers.

Paul Orson got up from his chair and placed himself on her right. -What if he had agreed to sleep with her? What would have happened then?

Penelope shrugged her shoulders. -Nothing. We do not have any relationship. We live together for Sammy. But Derek is not my husband, nor my boyfriend. He does not give me explanations of his personal life. He do not ask me either.

Someone knocked on the door of the interrogation room, interrupting the conversation.

-They've brought a box for Ms. Garcia.

Who brought it?

The young policeman shrugged, while looking at the other two with a confused gesture.

-I do not know. Someone left this at the door of the police station.

-It's my daughter's letter.

Her voice sounded like a faint whisper. Penelope pointed to the word "mommy" with trembling hand.

-Don't open it.

But it was too late. Penelope was crazy, breaking the box into a thousand pieces. She needed to know what was in there. She needed that like breathing.

With her mouth open and kneeling in front of the cardboard box, she turned to look at Agent Orson. -It's her stuffed unicorn- she informed him with tearful eyes -and her hair. They have cut her hair.


	5. Dirty Unicorn

I OWN NOTHING!

He looked at the calendar again.

Three days. Seventy-two hours without knowing absolutely anything about his child. Nothing apart from that box full of dark curls and that dirty stuffed unicorn.

Derek slowly shook his head, his gaze lost somewhere in the room.

\- And there are still people who ask me why I don't believe in God.

He returned to drink from that Scotch whiskey glass.

\- What I believe is you're drunk enough.

Spencer Reid grabbed the bottle from the kitchen table and emptied its liquid into the sink. He wrinkled his nose, it really disliked the smell of alcohol.

However, he understood the situation of his friend. Derek had lost what he loved most without warning. His little girl was with some disturbed at some unknown place. Maybe hurt, maybe dead. The hours passed slowly and so quickly at the same time.

With a deep sigh, Spencer slumped on the chair. His brown eyes fell on the other man's face.

\- Why don't you try to sleep, Morgan?

He let out a choked laugh as his sad eyes moistened.

\- I'm not alive anymore, Reid. I can't sleep, I can't eat. I feel like I'm going crazy. I lost my girl. I lost Penelope.

-Hey, she'll come back- Spencer came up to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. He was afraid too. He had thought of horrible endings. -And Penelope is still with you. She'll not leave you. You're her family.

Derek wiped his tears with his gray T-shirt sleeve. He shook his head slowly, with a devastated gesture written on his face.

He knew better. Their relationship was never a true love relationship. They hadn't sex since that night when their daughter was conceived. Penelope didn't change clothes in front of him. They didn't celebrate anniversaries, nor Valentine's Day. They even slept in separate beds.

\- Without Sammy, none of this makes sense. Penelope doesn't love me.

Spencer swallowed slowly. He knew the emotional state of his friends. Penelope had a long talk with him. They were a pair of idiots.

\- You know, she told me about the same thing. But there was a difference.

The other man raised his eyebrows, really surprised by the confession. His heart pounded madly against his chest.

\- She told me you didn't love her. Penelope is convinced that you aren't in love with her.

Derek looked at him, his dark eyes digging into his face. Spencer returned an outline of a warm smile. Maybe Penelope was going to kill him as soon as she found out.

But he just wanted to ease the pain of his best friend.

\- Trust me, Morgan - he said as he got up from his chair to pour coffee - Penelope and you both have a lot to talk about.

\- What if our daughter no longer appears,man? What the hell am I going to do with my life?

Spencer Reid dropped his gaze on the cardboard box on the floor. The young man frowned as a flashback hit his brain. With a lump in his throat, he thanked God for his eidetic memory.

-The kidnapper came back. I don't know when, but that damn sick came back to your house.

Derek looked him up and down, barely whispering a _how do you say?_

Then he grabbed that colorful unicorn and placed it in the center of the table. Spencer spoke with conviction.

-When I arrived here three days ago with the team, this was in your yard. It was right next to her rubber sandals. And barely two meters from her tricycle. Whoever it was, he had to come back to grab this and send the box to Penelope.

Both men shared a long look. Derek ran from the kitchen to the stairs that led to the top floor.

-Where are you going?

When he didn't get an answer, it followed his partner.

He was in his office, unlocking a safe. Spencer really did not understand anything.

Then Derek turned to look at him with a small netbook in his hands and a hopeful smile on his face.

-I have security cameras in every corner of my house. 24 hours. 365 days of the year.

The other man crossed his arms. He still did not understand anything. Derek has already showed the recordings of that damned day to Orson. They didn't see anyone. Just the little girl walking towards the street.

\- But we already saw those images. Maybe we should call Orson. Police should check the security cameras around your house.

Derek shook his head energetically as he turned on the electronic device.

-You don't understand, Reid- his fingers trembled on the keyboard, but his eyes were immobile on the screen. Cameras only record my property. That son of a bitch didn't come to my house, he was out of the vision of the security system all the time. I don't know how fuck he did it, but for some reason, Sammy walked towards where he was. But if you say that stuffed animal was in the yard ...

-He came to your house.

Derek felt like he was about to have a heart attack. After all, maybe his little one was going to return with them. To home. With her parents.

He couldn't prevent a lump forming in his throat. He checked the time on recording. 3:37 A.M. Thursday.

A thin little shape goes into his yard.. He raises his eyebrows in surprise. It is a woman. Against all odds, the kidnapper of his daughter is not a pedophile, nor a serial killer.

Who has taken his girl is not what he had imagined.

Spencer breaks the tense silence of the room.

-Who is she?

Derek sighed deeply, his soul at his feet.

He pressed a couple of keys and then the image froze. With his right hand trembling, he zoomed in.

\- You don't know who she is, really?

Spencer stared at him, speechless, not knowing what to say. So he did not say anything. He swallowed hard, feeling the room spin around him.

But Derek did say it. He whispered the name that was so hard to say.

-It's Ellie Spicer. Sammy's kidnapper is Ellie.


End file.
